Anointing and Mantles by Ed Dufresne

Anointings and Mantles

Ed Dufresne
Ed Dufresne Ministries
Temecula, California
Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptural quotations are from the King James
Version of the Bible.

ISBN 0-940763-09-5
Copyright 1994 by
P.O. Box 186
Temecula, CA 92593
Published by
P.O. Box 186
Temecula, CA 92593
Editorial Consultant: Phyllis Mackall
Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved under International
Copyright Law. Contents and/or cover may not be reproduced in whole or in
part in any form without the express written consent of the publisher.
Contents
1 Concerning Spiritual Gifts
2 Anointings Within and Upon
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3 Coming Through the Cross
15
4 The Best Investment I Ever Made
25
5 The Importance of the Anointing
33
6 The Anointing and the New Revival
39
7 Degrees and Rankings of Anointings
47
8 Oiled by the Anointing
55
Chapter 1
Concerning Spiritual Gifts
aul writes in First Corinthians 12:1, "Now concerning spiritual

gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant."
Later in this chapter, Paul adds that he does not want us to be

"stupid, misinformed, or ignorant" concerning the gift ministries God
has set in the Church.
I'm convinced that before you begin to teach or study the spiritual
gifts outlined in First Corinthians 12, you need to go back to the
eleventh chapter, where Paul lays the groundwork by teaching about
discerning the Lord's Body.
Actually, that's what you're doing when you study these two
chapters: You're discerning the gifts of the Spirit in the Body of Christ
as well as the gift ministries that God set in the Church. Praise God for
every type of ministry!
Prophets, as you probably know, are different. Sometimes they will
"camp" on one subject until the situation changes. At other times, they
will zero in on different things.
Often when preaching I say to myself, "How did I get off on that
subject?" Then I'll receive a letter that says, "I had a problem, and you
hit the nail right on the head!"
That's my job. As a prophet, I'm a "stump puller." Of course, stump
pullers don't get much credit for anything; they just clear everything out
of the "field." Later the other gift ministriesapostle, evangelist,
pastor, teachercome along and till the ground, nurturing the tender
plants in God's garden.
In the twelfth chapter of First Corinthians, Paul also refers to you,
the everyday Christian. Every one of you is set in the Church, the Body
of Christ, and every one of you needs to discern your part in the Body.
Paul said in First Corinthians 12:28, "God hath set some in the

church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that
miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of
tongues."
God has set them in the Church! We need to discern each part God
has set in the Church. We don't need to criticize each other.
For example, a man who flows in the gifts of the Spirit, but does
not have a strong preaching or teaching gift, needs to work on
developing that gift and needs to be under a pastor or a teacher to help
keep his ministry straight, so he'll stay in line with the Word of God.
We Need Each Other
We need each other. Because we supply each other's spiritual
needs, we shouldn't criticize how another Christian functions. God has
set that person in the Church for a purpose.
Those who don't operate strongly in miracles need to be careful not
to make fun of those who do have miracle anointings, and those who
flow in miracle anointings need to realize the necessity for those who
teach and bring balance and stability with the power of the Word and
the Spirit.
If we concentrate on just one type of ministry without discerning
the whole Body of Christ, we will miss out on something vital to our
life, because we need every other part in the Body to remain healthy
spiritually and even physically.
Those who do not discern the Body properly will become weak and
sickly, and will die physically prematurely.
People are blessed when a variety of anointings are exercised in
meetings.
Prophecy
There are those whom God has not set. They have set themselves
and said "I am an apostle, and I am a prophet, and I am this, and I am
that."
Shortly you will see some of them drop dead, even in the pulpit,
because they are lying to the Holy Spirit. And because the Head of the
Church never set them into the Church to walk in that office.
You'll hear it said, "My, my, you know that preacher just keeled
over in the pulpit. He must have been burned out."
Concerning Spiritual Gifts

No, saith the Lord, you shall see some of those go off the scene
who get up and absolutely lie, saying, "I am this and I am that," but I
never told them that they were in those offices.
But there will be those who will walk in the mighty power of God I
have set these in their offices. They are not ignorant of the things that
pertain to the Spirit, and they will walk in the office that I have set
them in.
And they will rise up in these last days, and they will walk in the
anointing, the gifts, and the equipment of their offices. Oh, how the
Body of Christ will be blessed, because they will be coming on the
scene.
Yes, the fivefold ministries and those that I have set in the Church
will even come into cities. The pastor will work together with them as a
team, and blessings will be conferred because of their unity, saith the
Lord of hosts.
God set every part or member in the Body of Christ. We need them
all! If you do not discern the local church, you will be weak spiritually.
Yes, you might fool people as you operate in the gifts and so forth, but
you will always be weak spiritually, because God has set the local
church in the Body of Christ.
Manifestations of the Holy Spirit
Let's continue in First Corinthians 12. The fourth verse says, "Now
there are [differences and] diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit."
Although Paul is referring here to the gifts of the Spirit, I believe he
is also pointing to the gift ministries, because they're mentioned in this
same chapter.
Verse 5: "And there are differences of administrations, but the
same Lord." The word "administration" means "services, ministries,
and offices." Notice the Lord is the Head of the administrative arm of
this big "corporation," the Body of Christ.
Verse 6: "And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same
God which worketh all in all." God is the One who operates it to
accomplish things done in the Body of Christ.
Verse 7: "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man
to profit withal." I don't want to sound spooky, but "manifestation"
means "appearing." There are different ways the Holy Spirit manifests,
or appears, and we are not to make fun of them!

Mocking a Manifestation
I was guilty of this years ago, watching a fellow on television. He'd
stick his fingers in someone's ears and say, "Now, deaf spirits, come
out!" And he'd put his finger on their mouth and command the dumb
spirit to come out. Then he'd say, "Say baby. Ba-by. Ba-by."
And I was sitting there laughing and saying, "Ba-by," mocking this
man of God. It seemed funny then, but I was mocking the way the Spirit
of God was operating through him.
And God said, "I want to ask you a question."
(When He wants to ask you a question, you're in trouble! You've
had it!)
I said, "What is it?"
He said, "How many auditoriums do you fill up?"
"Well, I go down here on the Indian reservation, and about 16
people show up." I knew He had me.
Don't criticize because of the way different manifestations of the
Holy Spirit flow through different people.
Don't Leave Out the Spirit
If we're not careful, we can get into one mindset. Then we will say
things like, "Bless God, I'm a Word man. Unless it's in the Word..."
Well, it is in the Word. It's in the verses we've been studying.
You can be such a stickler for the Word that you leave out the
Spirit! We need both the Word and the Spirit.
In 1971, when the anointing came into my right hand and
manifested itself by heat and a burning sensation, I didn't know what it
was. I didn't know anyone else operating with that manifestation, and
people were making fun of me because of it.
In one of my meetings, I described how the tangible healing
anointing felt like a hot silver dollar being held in my hand. Then one
man got up and said, "I haven't got silver dollars in my hand that are
real hot." He was criticizing me. He was jealous because he didn't
operate under that kind of anointing.
I never asked for that kind of anointing in the first place, but I
knew what God had spoken to me, so I continued operating in it.
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Chapter 2
Anointings Within and Upon
here's a verse in Isaiah that says that the anointing destroys the
yoke (Isaiah 10:27). The anointing completely devastates it, and it
disappears!
You also know the verse in First John which refers to the anointing
within (1 John 2:20). I call it "the personal anointing"the personal
anointing for my everyday life, to lead and guide me into the things of
the Lord.
This personal anointing even leads me into what kind of car to buy.
If you had listened to the Holy Spirit, you never would have bought that
lemon of yours! You see, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, will lead,
guide, and teach us, as Jesus promised. We need to listen to Him. We
need to develop our personal anointing.
Whenever people receive Jesus as the Lord of their life, the Holy
Spirit bears witness with their spirit that they are a child of God, so they
are born of the Spirit. They have an anointing within, whether or not
they ever receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of
speaking in tongues.
Another important type of anointing is the anointing that comes
upon us. Jesus talked about this anointing, which is for service, or to
help other people. He said of Himself, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me...." So this isn't our personal anointing.
In Luke 4:18,19, Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath
sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives,
and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are
bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."
Actually this is the call, corporately speaking, to the whole Church
to preach the Gospel!
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Differences in the Two Anointings
Now I want to touch upon some things I think we've often missed.
For many years I have backed off from saying certain things for the
simple fact that you can't build a ministry on the supernatural. I hope
you know that: You can't build a ministry on the supernatural or on the
ministry gifts. You must build a ministry on the Word of God.
The anointing upon comes and goes, enabling you to stand in
different offices. But the anointing within comes and abides with you.
It's there not only to teach and guide you in the things of the Lord, but
also to build character in you.
The reason why many people don't have any character is because
they're not listening to the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit will lead and guide you into all truth. Although you
should develop this anointing more than any other, you must not "throw
the baby out with the bath water." We need all of these anointings.
Anointings Within the Mantle
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me...." We know that Jesus made
this statement many times. The anointing came upon Him, covering
Him like a coat. I like to say that a mantle came upon Him. (I like to
use the word "mantle".)
There are many different types of anointings in a mantle. For
example, there are different types of anointings in the mantle, or office,
of a pastor.
I have been around a pastor who truly was a pastor, yet he couldn't
preach his way out of a wet paper sack. He wasn't even a good teacher.
But, boy, could he pastor! He loved and empathized with his people,
and the people loved him.
Even though a teaching center was just down the street and his
flock would go there for special meetings, they'd come home to be
around that pastor. Why? Because he had a mantle.
He was a shepherd. Even though he couldn't preach that well, he
was still a "feeder." A shepherd is a feeder; he feeds the sheep.
Don't Judge Other Ministries
That's why you shouldn't go around judging different ministries,
saying, "He's kind of dry." The next time you have a death in your
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Anointings Within and Upon

family, call the television evangelist you give all your tithes to. When
you get sick, go to his door.
You aren't going to find him, because that isn't his call or
equipment. You need a shepherd at such a time. You must realize we
need all these varieties of anointings.
We need all of these varieties of anointingseven those teachers
you think are "dry" because they don't shout and spit.
Jesus preached, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me...." Notice He
didn't preach about titles. A lot of people are going by titles now.
Everyone has a title. "What are you?" is the first question some people
ask.
In some churches, they make all the people call certain members by
these titles: Apostle So-and-so, Prophet So-and-so. After watching them
for a while, I can tell if they're really in that office or not.
You may have a title, but you're known by your anointing. You're
known by the mantle you have and what you walk in. You need to walk
in your mantle and your authority, because if you don't believe in it, no
one else will believe in it.
In fact, if you are a pastor, unscrupulous people will come and try
to take your church away from you.
Yielding to Familiar Spirits
A person I know went to a prophet's meeting. Those in charge
announced, "After the service, we're going to go into a back room and
this prophet will give everyone a word."
Things like this bother me for the simple fact that I can't turn the
prophetic gift on and off like that, and they can't either. If the anointing
doesn't come and you operate anyway, you're yielding to something
else. Don't forget, familiar spirits know where you live and everything
else about you!
My acquaintance went into the back room afterwards, and the socalled prophet prophesied over him, "You're going to be a great, great,
greatnot just two "greats" but threeapostle to the nations."
I heard the tape. First of all, no one but the Lord Jesus Christ is
great, but this "prophecy" was very appealing to the flesh. Second, I
couldn't even get this person to attend church regularly, so how is he
going to be an apostle to the nations? I advised him to put the
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"prophecy" on the shelf, where it belongs.
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Chapter 3
Coming Through the Cross
hen many people teach on the prophet's ministry, they focus on

his role in the Old Testament. No, you've got to bring the
prophet's ministry through the cross of Calvary. Then you can examine
it in a new light. So always bring your teaching out of the Old
Testament through Calvary. It will keep your doctrine straight.
In the Old Testament, they danced with all their might. Not God's
might; their might. Today we, too, are trying to do a lot of things
without the anointing. We think we can do just about anything without
it. Well, we can't do anything without it. We can only do what Jesus
says to do.
We're discussing different anointings that God sets on different
ministries. My goal is to help get people back on the right track. I've
gotten off before, and if you would be honest and not lie to the Holy
Spirit, every one of you would admit that you have gotten off, too. We
all have, because we're human. That's why it's good for young ministers
who have the gifts in operation to be around seasoned ministers with
their type of anointing; they can develop and mature their spiritual gifts
and callings.
Acts 10:38 says, "How God anointed [or covered over] Jesus of
Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing
bad things to people to teach them things." No, that isn't what it says!
God anointed Jesus to do what? To help people! That's the reason you
get anointed: to help people, to set people free.
Your Anointing Is for Others
The anointing that comes upon is not for you personally; you are
supposed to use it to help others. In fact, it is extremely difficult for
most ministers to appropriate the healing anointing for themselves. I
knew preachers who have had great healing ministries, yet they became
sick and died with sickness and disease. Why? Because they didn't
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appropriate healing for themselves! Preachers have to live off the
anointing within just as all other believers have to.
There have been times when I've been attacked with sickness when
I was on the road. I've laid my right hand on myself, trying to get that
anointing to work for me, but it didn't. I must "turn the switch of faith
on" for myself, just like you do.
Titles seem so important to the natural, fleshly world, but I never
need to ask preachers what type of ministry they have. When I watch
them minister for a while, I can see which anointing comes on them.
The anointing came on Jesus. He went everywhere and preached to
the people. He brought attention to the healing anointing that was on
His life.
A New Look at an Old Story
Now let's look at the story in Mark 5 of the woman with the issue
of blood.
And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent
all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew
worse,
When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and
touched his garment.
For she said, If I may touch but bis clothes, I shall be whole.
Mark 5:25-28
In other words, her medical insurance ran out! Sometimes this

happens to us. We spend everything we have, and then we run to God
with our problem.
Another translation renders the woman's statement as, "If I may
touch His mantle, I may be whole." Her remark makes the story much
clearer to me, because I want to look at her story the way she looked at
it.
The Old Testament Prophet's Ministry
In those days, before the cross, the Jews went to their prophets to
receive guidance, healing, and everything else of a spiritual nature.
Why? Because there was a tangible anointing in the mantle of the
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prophet; and in most prophets today, under the New Testament, it's the
same way. However, you no longer need to go to a prophet for guidance
or healing.
In fact, you must be very careful of extreme teachings about
prophets. If you're not careful, these teachings end up in heavy
submission-type doctrines where you've got to go to the prophet to find
out everything! You don't need to do this; you've got the Holy Spirit
within to guide you.
If I were to come to your church and you advertised that a prophet
was coming to town who would tell you about your future, the church
would be packed out. That's the way the world is.
If a true prophet gives you a word, he won't lay out your entire
future, because that way you wouldn't walk by faith.
The world is turning to divination. Millions of people are calling
late-night 900 numbers where psychics advise them about their future,
their personal life, their finances, and so forth. Why do they do this?
Because the world doesn't want to walk by faith. They want everything
laid out for them.
A Woman Who Walked by Faith
The woman with the issue of blood is a good example of a person
who walked by faith.
For she said, If I may touch but his clothes [mantle], I shall be
whole.
And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she
felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue [power]
had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said,
Who touched my clothes [mantle]?
Mark 5:28-30
Someone made a demand on Jesus. Someone pulled on His

anointing.
And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude
thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in
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her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
And he said unto her, Daughter, the fact that I am a prophet of
God is what made thee whole.
Mark 5:31-34
Is that what Jesus said to her? Do you know your Bible? What does
it say? Jesus told her, "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole...."
Her faith had made a demand on that anointing. She even said it: "If I
may touch.. .if I may do it."
By Faith the Woman Prophesied Her Healing
She was prophesying her healing when she said it. She made a
demand on Jesus' anointing.
You don't come to see man, because he can't heal you.
However, the anointing that is in his mantle can heal you, and you
can make a demand on that mantle of anointing.
If I make a demand on the mantle that falls on a man, it doesn't
bring attention to the man; it brings attention to God, because He is the
Operator of those anointings He has set in the Church. That's why I
don't think it's wrong to bring attention to the anointingjust don't
bring attention to yourself!
Many familiar spirits are roaming around today. Usually, if a
familiar spirit is operating in a man, it will always bring attention to
the man instead of giving all the glory to God.
The Corporate Anointing
Corporately speaking, there is an anointing on the whole Church.
In the Great Commission, Jesus instructed the Church, "Lay hands on
the sick, and they shall recover" (Mark 16:18).
God anoints some people to heal, just like He anoints some to
preach and do other things, because there are different types of
anointings. When the Body of Christ starts to discern these things, great
blessings will come, corporately speaking.
We also need the prophet's ministry. The prophet's ministry has
actually been suppressed. I myself have backed off from expressing it
fully for various reasons, but no more. The Lord started dealing
strongly with me about walking fully in the prophet's ministry, and I
listened.
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Stirring Up the Flesh
Remember, you're not the one who sets people in the Church; God
does. There are many cases today of "people setting people," like that
group that was trying to set up that person I knew as an apostle. Even
though he loves God, he's no apostle. It's a struggle to get him to
church.
Do you know what an apostle really is? First, he demonstrates all
the fruit of the Spirit as well as outstanding gifts of the Spirit in his life.
I personally believe that an apostle has the ability to operate in all the
fivefold offices. God gives him that ability as the need arises. This
ability is included in the anointings in his mantle.
I like to observe and learn, and I've noticed something that happens
around some of the younger prophets. A lot of them prophesy all the
time; when they're sitting around lunch tables, and every place else.
They just turn it on.
They excuse their behavior by saying, "Well, we're told to stir up
the gift!" But this admonition by Paul in Second Timothy 1:6 refers to
the fire of God in younot to the prophet's anointingbecause the
gifts operate as the Spirit wills ( 1 Corinthians 12:11).
You can't stir up the gift of prophecy; God has to stir it up.
Usually people who prophesy all the time, prophesy the same
things when they're out of the pulpit that they prophesy when they're in
the pulpit, with one important difference: The anointing is not on them
when they're out of the pulpit. They're prophesying in the flesh!
There are times, as the Spirit wills, when God will use me in the
prophet's ministry, and I can prophesy over everyone in a group. But it's
as the Spirit wills, not as I will.
On the other hand, because of the misuse of the gift, we are
tempted to completely back off from the things of God. I've been
concerned about this. Yes, we need to be careful of error, yet we don't
need to get in fear and completely back off, either.
How the Anointing Comes
The anointing is God's business as Operator and Director of the
Church. This is the way it operates: God says, "Now, the people are
coming to this meeting tonight, and I'm going to orchestrate it. This is
what I want done." He tells Jesus, the Administrator, and Jesus instructs
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the Holy Spirit, the One who manifests God's will.
We ministers must be sensitive enough to follow the Spirit of God,
allowing Him to appear and manifest through us. That's why we need to
be found before the Lord and not socializing too much with the people.
That's why we're not given to "serve tables" (Acts 6:2). That's why God
has sent us the ministry of helps. We've got to be before the Lord in
prayer and meditation so we can walk in that anointing.
The Bible speaks of waiting on the Lord, or waiting on your
ministry (Romans 12:7). One translation even talks about "practicing
before the Lord."
Often when I'm waiting on the Lord, I get things in the Spirit. God
will start showing me things. He might say, "Now when you go over
there tonight, you will see a woman in a red dress. She's got this
problem, and I want you to do thus and so..." We must follow through
on what we see.
There's something blessed about waiting on your ministrywaiting
for the anointing to come. Sometimes I hold meetings where I minister
to ministers, and I just love it. I believe God has called me to minister
to ministers.
With Signs Following
"And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul" (Acts
19:11). Special miracles are extraordinary miraclesunusual
demonstrations of power, miracles of an unusual nature.
Although God is going to raise up people who will have miracles
of an unusual nature, I am not a miracle-chaser. Miracles follow me
when I preach the Word of God. Actually, they follow the Word (Mark
16:20). If you're full of the Word, miracles will follow you, too.
It's interesting to me that many churches claim that they preach the
Word of God, yet they never have any miracles! You've got to be
careful that you don't preach your little pet doctrines instead of the
uncompromised Word of God.
The woman with the issue of blood said, "If I may touch but His
mantle. If I may make a demand on that anointing of His..."
Do It God's Way
Sometimes we ministers need to check our lives and go back to the
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thing God told us to do. Remember when God spoke to you? Did you
get away from what He told you to do? It's very important that you do it
the way God wants it.
God instructed one man to spit on people. Tremendous miracles
occurred in his ministry when he did this in his prayer lines. If other
ministers tried to imitate him in the flesh, they would get in trouble, or
get "slapped."
What would have happened if he got criticized and never did it
anymore? The Church wouldn't have profited from his special
anointing.
There are many things we ministers have backed off from, and as a
result, the Church isn't profiting from them. I myself have backed off
from doing certain things I knew I should do in the Spirit.
How to Overcome Discouragement
If you get discouraged in the ministry, you ought to go back to the
prophecies and other words the Lord spoke to you and use them on the
devil!
That's exactly what Paul encouraged Timothy to do when the
young man became discouraged. In Second Timothy 1:6, Paul
encouraged Timothy to stir up the gifts that were in him, saying,
"Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God,
which is in thee by the putting on of my hands."
Then, in First Timothy 1:18, Paul reminded him, "This charge I
commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which
went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare."
Waiting for a Refill
We need to wait on the Lord concerning certain things. Some
people, however, don't believe in waiting on God to be refilled. But
when that fire of the Holy Spirit in you starts to go out because of
hardship and persecution, you have to get a fresh touch from God!
That's what Paul is talking about herestirring up the gifts,
praying in the Holy Spirit, spending time before God, fanning that fire
and getting it back to where you can flow again in the things of God.
Too many people run out of fuel and never refuel!
Several years ago, I ministered in Germany. There was a heavy
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anointing in that meeting, and I was preaching along these lines about
the anointing of God.
I prayed for a woman who had been full of sickness all her life. The
anointing went into her when I laid hands on her. I never had this
happen before, but green foam started coming out of her mouth. It was
a spirit of sickness and disease that had plagued her.
"Talk About the Anointing"
It was in Germany that God started dealing with me about my
anointing. He said, "I want you to talk about the anointing that's in your
right hand."
I replied, "But it will look like it's bringing attention to me.
Everyone will want me to put my hand on them."
He said, "No, you've got to learn that you must bring attention to
the anointing."
As the Bible says, it's the anointing that destroys the yoke, so how
can it benefit anyone if they don't know about it?
However, there is a fine line involved where you must not bring
attention to yourself. That's the thing that bothered me.
I kept going back and forth on this issue, but the Lord said,
"There's nothing wrong with bringing attention to the mantle and the
anointing that is on your life."
Many ministers face this dilemma. They don't want to keep telling
how the Lord appeared to them. What they need to use to teach their
people are the prophecies that went before them.
Do you pastors remember when God spoke to you and told you to
go to a certain city? Do you remember the scriptures He gave you? By
sharing these scriptures, you're not drawing attention to yourself; you're
giving attention to the anointing God told you about.
When Jesus told the people, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,"
that's the way the people found out He was anointed!
There are many different anointings, so drawing on the anointing is
not the only way to receive healing. God wants so much for you to be
healed that He has put all different types of healing anointings in the
Church to meet everyone on their level.
He realizes that not everyone is going to live in the higher realm
where you just speak it and believe it, acting on the Word of God. That
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is the highest way to receive healing.
23
Chapter 4
The Best Investment I Ever Made
od has a purpose in life for every one of you. You could even be
destined to attend a certain meeting. I was, back in 1971, when I
attended a Full Gospel Business Men's International meeting in Denver,
Colorado.
God had a purpose for my attending this meeting. He told me to
attend it. I had to sell my house to take the trip, but it was the best
investment I ever made! But you must understand, I sold my house
because God instructed me to. Only do something like that at God's
direction.
To make a long story short, they were advertising a youth meeting.
The speakers included Kenneth E. Hagin, John Osteen and Kenneth
Copeland.
I heard Kenneth Copeland and his sermon changed my life. He
preached on young David, the covenant man who turned his nation
around. I'll never forget it as long as I live. I said, "Man, that's for me!"
I came out of that meeting praising and worshipping God. And out
of the corner of my eye I saw a woman lying across two steps that led
into another auditorium. This was in the lobby of the Denver Hilton
Hotel.
Archie Dennis, the Gospel singer, was standing on the top step
praising God. I walked right up to him. I'd never seen anyone fall under
the power in my Full Gospel church, so I figured the woman had had a
heart attack. I didn't know if they were saying the last rites over her or
what.
I asked, "What happened to her?"
Archie said, "Well, she asked me to lay hands on her to get filled
with the Holy Ghost, and when I started praying, she started speaking in
tongues and fell down under the power of God."
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In the meantime, a big crowd of people, pushing and shoving to see
better, had gathered around. I was a deacon in a Full Gospel church. I
had been saved about six years, and I was in the ministry of helps
cleaning toilets.
A Humbling Experience
I was so hungry for more of God, but I said in my heart, "Lord, I
hope You never do that to me in front of all these people!"
BAM! I was slain in the Spirit, too. God may not do something like
this to you, but this is my story. People started falling out under the
power right in that hotel lobby.
I fell next to the woman who was already on the floor. A huge
woman who had been standing behind me was the next to falland she
came down right on top of me! And she stankoh, the stench! It was
awful. God knows how to humble you.
My denomination taught against women preachers, but for some
reason or other, I got delivered of prejudice against women preachers
down there under that woman. I don't know why; I just did. When I got
up, all that prejudice that had been put in me by the church had left me.
I'm glad it did.
The Healing Anointing Comes
Paul had his road to Damascus experience, and I had mine. As I lay
there, God spoke to me and said, "I'm putting a healing anointing in
your right hand."
I didn't know what that was. I didn't know the scripture that says
God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul. No one prophesied
this over me; God spoke it to me.
Finally that big woman got up. Then I got up.
She asked, "What happened to you? Something happened to you."
I said, "Yeah," and I kept massaging my right hand. It felt like hot
oil was coming out of my hand. It doesn't mean I'm something; it came
on me to help the Body of Christ.
She said, "Put your hand on me."
When I did, the power of God went into her body like electricity.
I said, "My goodness!"
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She was eaten up with cancer. That's why she had such a strong
odor. She was so filled with big tumors that her body was enormously
bloated, and she had to wear a custom-made dress. When I laid hands
on her, it was like a balloon had popped, and her body instantly
returned to its normal size.
An 85-year-old man observed this miracle and said, "Hey, young
whippersnapperI've been seeking for the Holy Ghost for 35 years.
Lay your hands on me!"
When I laid my hands on him, he started speaking in tongues.
I said, "My goodness!"
People started falling all over the place. After an hour and a half,
people came out into the lobby from the other meetings and found
people lying all over the place. I was wringing wet, and my hand still
burned.
If I don't tell anyone about this special anointing, how can it benefit
the Body of Christ? God showed me it was in the prophet's mantle on
my life, and I'm not bringing attention to myself by telling about it. In
fact, it's all right to bring attention to the calling or anointing on your
life.
We as Word of Faith people need to be careful that we don't back
off completely from everything supernatural. We must stay in line with
the Word of God on things concerning the anointing in our lives.
"I Ain't No Prophet!"
I guarantee, you'll never operate in the office of a teacher if you
don't believe in it and walk in it. When someone prophesied to me years
ago that I was going to be a prophet, I said, "You're crazy! The only
'profit' I'm going to make is in businessI'll tell you that right now. I
ain't no prophet."
I didn't ask for that anointing. I didn't even know what it was!
After attending the Denver convention, I returned to my home
church and began laying hands on the sick. A revival broke out in the
youth group in which I was active. People were being healed and stirred
up in the church. They got so stirred up, I got "the left foot of
fellowship"all because a little boy was healed and got a new hip.
They got mad when he was healed! And this all happened in a Full
Gospel church!
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Vanishing Gifts
It's wonderful to see people flow in the gifts of the Spirit. I'm not
trying to bring attention to myself when I flow in them; I'm trying to
show people the different varieties of gifts you can operate in. If
believers don't operate in the gifts, the gifts will disappear from the
Church!
If you'll notice, the "generals" of the land always talk about times
when God dealt with them and the prophecies they were given. They go
back to those times for fresh encouragement to fight the good fight of
faith.
Have you ever noticed that the more you talk about the Lord's
dealings with someone, the higher the people's faith gets? Pastors know
this. They know that when people in their church become discouraged,
they've got to retell their vision, or their prophecies, to the people.
When they share these things, they're fighting a good warfare
against all the human troublemakers and every spiritual force that's
involved. This is what God told us to do through Paul's writings to
Timothy.
Never Say Never
Years before, I had made fun of a certain television preacher, and I
had bragged, "I'll never do what he's doing!" Now I find myself doing
some of the very same things! God didn't tell me to say "ba-by" to deaf
children, but He did tell me to stick my fingers in their ears and
command those deaf spirits to leave them.
Later, I backed off from doing some of those things, but now I'm
getting back into some of those different varieties, operations,
administrations, and manifestations of the Holy Spirit. We need them
all!
In my Fresh Oil Conferences, I try to bring in ministers who have
different varieties of anointings so the people can see all the different
operations and gifts of the Holy Spirit that God has set in the Church.
Paul said, "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you,
and many sleep [die]" (1 Corinthians 11:30). The reason why some
churches are weak and sickly spiritually, and many die spiritually, is
because the pastors say, "Well, I'll do it all."
You can't do it all, pastor! You need to correctly discern all the
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different parts that make up the full scope of the Body of Christ.
If you could do it all, it would mean you had the Holy Spirit in full
measure, like Jesus had. But no one has the Spirit in full measure like
Jesus.
Send for the Prophet
Many pastors try to do everything, but they can't. If they're having
problems in their church, I advise them to get a prophet to comea true
prophet. And when he comes to town, don't tell him all the troubles
you've been having.
Let God reveal your problems to him, and let him nail everything.
Then your people won't get mad at you, because he'll have "pulled all
the stumps out" using spiritual dynamite.
God's Safety Device
We must remember the scriptural admonition that the gifts of the
Spirit operate as the Spirit wills. I call this a safety device. Just think: If
I could control the gifts of healing, I could go around healing everyone,
and I could become richer than the doctors.
If the gifts and operations of the Holy Spirit were mine, everyone
would look to me. They would say, "Would you come and pray for my
loved ones? I'll send a corporate jet for you and give you a million
dollars if you'll fly to Australia and pray for my daughter."
People would do exactly that. That's why God has that safety
device. That's the reason we don't have "the full measure." We're human
beings, and we couldn't handle it. This has been proven in history.
The Man Who Stole the Glory
An English healing evangelist had a special anointing to pray for
arthritis. Every person he laid hands on was completely healed of
arthritis. Eventually he got puffed up and announced, "I've got the
world at my feet."
Several months later, the very thing he had defied came on him. He
became so crippled with arthritis he couldn't even move. Why? Because
he took the glory. He started bringing attention to himself.
Those with healing anointings must believe healing will happen
when they lay their hands on sick people. It won't work unless you
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believe it's going to happen. Notice that Jesus told about His anointing
to heal everywhere He went.
The woman with the issue of blood released her faith when she
reached Jesus. Why? Because her faith was built up. That's why the
people of His day went looking for Him. And that's why the people of
our day are not looking for our churches. We're not telling them we
have an anointing to heal. It's something to think about.
If you really believe what God told you to do in your city, you need
to start advertising it, whether it's healing the sick or something else.
God is still anointing people with special anointings. You will see
people who are saturated with the anointing of God, but they must
remain humble to keep that anointing. And they must stay away from
the three G's: gold, glory and girls.
Mere man cannot handle the anointing that was on Jesus. Through
the years, the anointing was increased on many, yet they fell because
they couldn't handle the glory! I'm referring to being proud and taking
the glory due the Lord. Ministers must be so careful of that.
On the other hand, if we keep these things in mind, we shouldn't
back off from operating the gifts of the Spirit.
A Different Type of Anointing
Sometimes I operate under a different type of anointing: the
prophet's anointing as a seer. God asked Jeremiah, "What seest thou?"
(Jeremiah 1:11). Jeremiah replied, "I see an almond tree."
That was a word of knowledge, yet it goes a little deeper. There's
something different when a prophet exercises it; he carries it a bit
further. When the prophet finds the person he has seen, there's a 100
percent miracle for them every time.
Don't forget: For this cause many are weak and sickly, and many
diebecause they discern neither the different gifts God has set in the
Church nor the variety of operations, administrations, and
manifestations of the Holy Spirit.
God set these gifts in the Body for it to profit from them.
Sometimes when I would get tired physically, I would start griping, but
God would remind me, "I didn't put that anointing on you for you; it's
for the people you minister to, so you must continue to go."
Creating an Atmosphere for Miracles
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Obedience always creates an atmosphere for miracles. In other
words, if you would act on the Word of God, on the inner man when He
speaks to you, or when He gives you a visionjust act it outit will
come to pass, as long as it is in line with the Word.
If the devil can keep you in the past or in the future, he can keep
you from your healing. Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the substance
of things hoped for." That means, when hands are laid on you for
healing, you're going to receive what already belongs to you! You're
not going to get your healing; you already got it two thousand years
ago! It's been provided for you.
Your Point of Contact
Believers make a mistake when they go into a healing line thinking,
"When he lays hands on me, I'm going to get my healing." Instead,
those in need of healing should confess, "When hands are laid on me,
that is my point of contact that I receive my healing now, whether I feel
something or not."
Don't say, "I didn't get a hot flash, so I guess I didn't get healed."
You got your healing two thousand years ago. The Word of God makes
it so clear.
Oh, that we ministers called to the fivefold ministry would wear
our mantles with boldness and walk in the anointing and the office that
God has called us to walk in; that we would not go in fear and not back
up; but we would go with boldness and obey when God speaks to us.
Prophecy
Go back to the time that I spoke to your heart, and then go from
there.
I spoke to many to do this and do that, and you didn't do it. Now
you've been in disobedience, and it hasn't worked.
Back up to that point. Go back to that prophecy. Go back to when
I spoke to you and act on that, and it will all come back together, and
you will be in the perfect will of God, saith the Lord of hosts.
Often when we think of being "set free," we think it applies to
being set free from devils, but you can be set free from self, or you can
be set free from being out of the will of God and be restored back into
the will of God.
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Some meetings are destined to accomplish this. Unfortunately,
many miss out because they say they're "too busy" to attend. In such
cases, they miss what God had for them. I sold my house to be at a
meeting I was destined to attend. There in Denver God put a portion of
the anointing to minister on me.
We please the Lord when we walk humbly before Him and bring
attention to the fact that He is the One who is doing the work.
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Chapter 5
The Importance of the Anointing
n the past, when people sent me a prayer cloth or a handkerchief, I

laid my hands on them and prayed over them when I visited my
office.
One day as I was doing this God said, "There's more to this than
what you're doing. What you're doing is in accordance with the
scripture that says, '...if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any
thing...'" (Matthew 18:19).
He added, "If you will notice, Paul wore those handkerchiefs.
Then, when the anointing came upon him, it went into those
handkerchiefs. What you're doing is in accordance with agreeing. That's
fine, and it will work if the person who gets the handkerchief agrees.
But that isn't Acts 19:11. Paul wore them."
You should see me now at my conferences! I tuck prayer cloths all
over me and in my pockets and wear them while I minister, and then
they are sent to the sick. Why? Because when the healing anointing
comes upon me, it will also go into the cloths. We've got to get back to
the Bible in practices like these.
When prayer cloths are sent to me, I wait until the anointing comes
on me, then lay hands on the cloths so the healing anointing can be
stored in them and then be transmitted into sick bodies when they are
laid on them. That healing anointing isn't on a minister all the time, so I
must wait until it's there to transmit it into the cloth.
Out in Left Field With No Anointing
That's why I can't understand some of these so-called prophets who
claim they can flow in the prophetic anointing 24 hours a day and give
words to people at will.
As I was observing someone minister once, God said, "familiar
spirits." People can sound so religious. They can even say, "Thus saith
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the Lord..." But there's a fine line between flesh and spirit, and even
prophets can get 'way out in left field' if they're not careful!
They get in trouble when they try to push something that isn't there;
when they try to operate in the gifts without the anointing.
And when they do, the devil is quick to step in and accommodate
them with words that sound like prophecy, but are actually from the
soulish realm, or inspired by familiar spirits. It's so sly and slick, you'll
even think it's prophecy from God!
False Pastors Abound
Although we're looking at false prophets, God told me something
once about false pastors that shocked me. He said, "There are more
false pastors than false prophets in the Body of Christ today."
Think about it: In the natural, people often start a church because
there's a need. However, just seeing a need is not the same as fulfilling a
call.
You'd better be anointed to start a church. The reason these
pastors break down later is because they don't have any "oil," or
anointing, in their crankcase!
Many men say they're pastors, but they're just good businessmen.
They attend pastors' seminars and may even be good teachersbut that
doesn't mean they've been anointed to stand in the office of pastor. You
must be called to it. It's dangerous to walk in any office if you're not
called to it.
This is why a lot of deacons die prematurely: They try to be a
pastor and run the church, but they don't have the oil to do it, so they
burn out. We've all struggled because of trying to do something God
didn't tell us to do, and we didn't have the oil.
Balance in Prayer
I'm also concerned about people who are always fighting devils.
All they talk about is devils. They fight devils in the atmosphere and
over your city. And they're getting worn out, because they're not
fighting under the anointing. Yes, we've got to fight the good fight of
faith, but not in the flesh!
What is happening is that intercessors are trying to go into spiritual
realms to fight those devils without the necessary equipment or
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anointing.
You see, there are certain gifts and equipment necessary for every
office. Why try to tear down a big building with a riding lawn mower?
You need a bulldozer to do the job. Likewise, God equips different
ministries with the equipment that is necessary to get their job done.
In prayer, the anointing and the necessary spiritual equipment must
be on you to deal with certain situations in the spirit realm. God has
given you the ability to deal with things that pertain to your own life.
But when you get into realms outside of your own life, like trying to
pull down spirits over cities, you're laboring in vain if God didn't tell
you to do it and equip you with that anointing.
Some intercessors got off a while back, trying to be prophets and
prophesy the pastor out of the church, saying he wasn't spiritual, and so
forth.
Others kept pushing and pushing as they prayed, and finally they
broke into an area of the spirit realm where they had no business being.
That's when they got all goofed up. They weren't anointed or equipped
to be in that realm!
The Equipment of a True Prophet
I was once privileged, along with some other ministers, to visit
with a prophet after a large meeting. We asked questions about the
anointing, and he started talking about it.
When you start talking about the anointing, it starts flowing. After
this prophet started talking about the anointing, he went into the Spirit
for three hours. Long after some people went to bed, he was still sitting
there prophesying.
During this time he saw a huge, ugly spirit rising up out of the
Atlantic Ocean to attack the United States. This was the real gift of
discerning of spirits by one who operates in the prophet's ministry.
When he saw it, he promptly dealt with it, because he had the necessary
spiritual equipment to go into the spirit realm and deal with it!
"A" for Effort
Everyone who is hungry and tries to accomplish something for God
deserves an "A" for effort for trying, but without the oil of anointing,
they can't do anything.
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You are to come in weakness; not in your strength, but in God's
strength. For example, you will never touch your city for God without
the anointing and without God doing the work. He will do it if you
allow Him to.
I've heard of intercessors and others who were trying to do all kinds
of weird things in the natural. You've got to be anointedyou've got to
have the right equipmentto operate in the spirit realm.
If you attempt to go into outer space in a space ship without
wearing the right equipmenta space suityou won't be able to
breathe, and you will probably explode. That's what happens to people
who get into the wrong spiritual realm without having the anointing to
be there.
Do you remember the sons of Sceva in Acts 19 who tried without
any anointing to cast the devil out of someone? The evil spirit in the
man beat them up and tore their clothes off! That's what has happened
to a lot of the people who are always warring and fighting: The devil
beat them up! Look at their facesthey're drawn with fatigue, because
they're worn out.
Talk About Jesus
In addition, the devil is operating in their home. Bad things are
happening to them. Why? Because warring is all they talk about, the
devil accommodates them and launches war on them. I talk about
Jesus!
When you go around saying you're a prophet, if you aren't careful,
you'll force yourself out into the spirit realm, and the devil will
accommodate you. He'll ambush you! You'll get hurt if you don't have
the oil, the equipment, and the anointing to deal with him when you're
outside of your area of authority.
Yes, there are true prophets, but you must be anointed to stand in
this office. There is a great deal of persecution connected with the
office, so don't try to be a prophet without having the prophet's
anointing! You'll be persecuted enough just preaching the Word.
Jesus got up before the people in Nazareth and declared, "God
has anointed Me." What was their reaction? They tried to push Him off
a cliffbecause of the anointing. The devil doesn't want you to flow in
the anointing, either, because it's the anointing that destroys his work!
The Devil Fights the Anointing
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Can you see how the devil has slipped into the Church, trying to
abort what God wants to do in the Spirit through these different
varieties of ministries? The devil is trying to get us to do things in the
flesh. He's trying to abort the ministry of the prophets, the apostles, and
every other office and gift.
Have you noticed the lyrics of contemporary worship songs? They
declare, "We're going to do this. We're going to take this. We're going
to do this." There's nothing in the songs about the blood of Jesus or
what Jesus did at Calvary. We must always remember that we are
victorious only because of what Jesus did.
The Anointing Visits Strategic Meetings
We may be missing God by having short meetings. It takes about a
week just to break through all the junk anyway. Then people get on the
phone and tell their friends, "Something is happening over here." That's
just the way human beings are.
In the future, we will see meetings continue for several weeks.
Miracles will happen, revival will break out, and the revival will keep
on growing.
A pastor told me he invited a popular speaker to his church, and the
place was jammed. But the next day, when they went out to clean the
parking lot, they found it full of beer cans and cigarette butts. Why? A
lot of those people came just for the miracles. But at least they were
coming to church!
I have learned that God has strategic meetings when He wants to
impart something in the Spirit to mature believers. He keeps carnal
people away from these meetings when He wants to do something
special.
Follow the Cloud
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are important. The Word is important.
We need them all, because the Word is life. If something isn't in the
Word, I don't want it, because I am determined to follow God's Word
and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
God gave us spiritual gifts and His Word so we will be strong. We
will receive a blessing from discerning the Lord's Body and from
studying the twelfth and thirteenth chapters of First Corinthians,
learning how the gifts of the Spirit and the love of God affect the Body
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of Christ.
Whoever follows the Word of God will go with the "cloud" of
God's presence. If you go with the "cloud," it had better be in line with
the Word of God!
There are lots of "clouds" out there, but few of them have any rain
in them. I want to go with a cloud that has rain in ita cloud that will
producea cloud that has the power, the lightning, and the thunder of
God in it!
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Chapter 6
The Anointing and the New Revival
n the last few years, we have been in the babyhood stages of a great
revival. Soon we will step through the door of the supernatural into
the full revival God wants for these last days.
Then we will see the fivefold ministry develop as the Head of the
Church wills, and we will walk in it. The coming revival may not come
the way we think it should; nevertheless, however it comes, it will be
powerful.
There will be men and women who will walk in awesome power in
this new revivalbut the ministers you were certain would be used as
leaders will not go with the revival.
Those whom God will use in this revival will recognize that they
came from nowhere and from nothing. They will humble themselves
before God and say, "Lord, not my will, but thine be done. I don't care
to be seen by anyone. I just want what You want. Use that other person
instead of me."
I've met people like this. They have a stronger anointing than
others, and they will do exploits, because in the new revival we will
experience a dimension of the Spirit that the Church hasn't seen yet.
Unless we have a genuine revival soon, a whole generation of
ministers will arise who will not recognize the movings of the Holy
Spirit or how to flow in the things of the Spirit.
Make Room for the Holy Spirit
One of the reasons for this is, we've gotten into a rut in most of our
church services. We sing a certain number of songs, preach for 30 to 45
minutes, and then we all go home!
The Holy Spirit likes to come in and speak, but ministers don't
understand this, so they don't give Him that opportunity. They go on
with their program and cut everything else out.
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The reason why witchcraft has permeated even into the Church is
because our children haven't seen the supernatural. That's why, when I
feel in my spirit that we are going to be in a powerful meeting, I want
my son right on the front row so he can be around the anointing. I want
him to be familiar with God's presence.
So let it be said that we are not going to lose a generation of
ministers who do not know how to operate in the Spirit; but this will be
a generation that will know the movings and the flow of the Spirit, and
they will flow with power and equipment from on high, with the Word
of God in their mouths.
Let it be said that this generation of ministers will have anointing
and ability from heaven to accomplish those things God has called them
to do; and much rejoicing and much harvest will come because of the
obedience of God's servants.
Now I want to share some spiritual advice and some practical
advice to help this new generation of young ministers mature in the
things of God.
Pitfalls for Young Preachers
Just because you've got the gifts operating through you doesn't
mean you're someone special. All of us should have the gifts of the
Holy Spirit flowing in our lives.
I wonder how many ministries have been destroyed when men tried
to promote them with the flesh instead of allowing God to promote
them.
Some people use the route of politickinggetting close to the right
people and flattering themto get to the top. Watch out when people
tell you how great and wonderful you are, because they're puffing you
up for something they want from you!
My wife protects me from that. After we get in the car after a
meeting, she says, "Don't you believe that woman who just told you
what a great preacher you are. You are special to me, but you stay
humble before God."
Nancy and I often discuss how famous men and women of God in
past generations were destroyed through pride, and how we can learn
from their examples.
Paul on Preaching
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One of the most important things ministers must build into their life
is character. Let's look at Paul's advice to Timothy about the ministry:
This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he
desireth a good work.
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife,
vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to
teach;
Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but
patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in
subjection with all gravity....
Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the
condemnation of the devil.
1 Timothy 3:1-4,6
"Novice" means a baby Christian or a young believer. Some

pastors have had the unhappy experience of taking a novice under their
wing and training him for a number of years until one day he got mad
about something, split the church, went down the street, and started
another church.
That's unethical. You shouldn't do such a thing. God sees it, it hurts
the Body of Christ, and it will hurt your ministry.
The Sad Story of a Novice
I know of a young man who had the gifts of healing operating
through him in a mighty way. In fact, great miracles occurred in his
meetings.
Although this young man was still a novice, and he hadn't proven
himself yet, a television station started to promote his ministry. They
built him up so much on TV that large crowds started coming to hear
him.
Three years ago, this young man died of AIDS. He had ended up
working as a waiter in a Hollywood restaurant before his death.
Once he'd had a powerful ministry in the Spirit, but men promoted
a novice in the flesh, which is a very dangerous thing to do. He got
lifted up with pride, and it destroyed his life and ministry.
Starting at the Bottom
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When you start in the ministry, you will start at the bottom and
sometimes make great sacrifices, but the call alone will pull you
through if you remain faithful to it.
Of course, most people want to start at the top! I've seen many who
pushed themselves to get to the top, but they're not around anymore.
They went right back down again.
If you think you are called to a particular office, just wait and test it
to find out for sure. Even if you are called to it, you won't step into it
immediately. I didn't step into the prophet's ministry immediately; I
started in the ministry of helps.
Too many people say, "Well, bless God, I'm a prophet," and they
want to get up on the platform and begin to operate in that office right
away. They don't realize there are things they must do and learn first.
If God fully exposed them to that office too soon, they would
destroy themselves, their ministries, their families, and others.
Preparation time is not lost time. I have celebrated my twentyeighth anniversary in the ministry, and although I learned many
valuable lessons during those years, I feel like I know very little. In fact,
I feel like I'm just getting started!
The Spirit of Competition
I learned about novices the hard way. Once I put a novice in a
position he wasn't ready for. He was all excited about it, but I gave him
too much responsibility, and he got prideful and turned on me.
As Paul pointed out, pride is a problem with novices. You've got to
watch out for it. And pride is often accompanied by a spirit of
competition.
The spirit of competition you sometimes see among Christians isn't
the Spirit of God at all; it's the spirit of the world in manifestation.
Be sweet, and be a gentleman or a lady in your business dealings
and in all the other aspects of your life. After all, we are not supposed
to be in the world, behaving as the unsaved do, stepping on each other
to get to the top and fulfill our own ambitions!
Little Pastor or Big Apostle?
Once I preached in a church pastored by a novice. The power of
God came on me, and I fell out under God's power. I then rose up and
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prophesied and ministered to the people.
After I left, the pastor told a friend of mine, "You know, Ed
Dufresne couldn't take it at our church, because the anointing in my
pulpit was too strong for him!" That's ridiculous! We're not in
competition.
This young man had started his church in an area of the country
that was enjoying phenomenal growth. He had only been saved for six
years, and because he became successful in a short time, he thought he
was something special. And because he was a novice, pride entered his
heart.
Then some fellow came to town and prophesied that the young
pastor was an apostle over that city, so he started going around telling
everyone that he was the apostle of that city because he had a church of
2,000 members.
But just because you've got a church of 2,000 doesn't mean you're a
big shot. You ought to thank God, submit to some men who have been
around a while, and use some wisdom about things.
As we were leaving that city, not knowing what the pastor had said
about me, I told the man who traveled with me, "Watch what happens.
Within two years that pastor will have fewer than 250 people." Within
two years, he lost most of those people, and his attendance went down
to 220. His problems were caused by pride.
Now I understand he's starting to get turned around a little. He
could have avoided that episode altogether if he had only taken some
advice I gave him while I was there. But he wouldn't listen.
The people from his church scattered all over. Some time later,
when I held a meeting in that city, the auditorium was filled with many
beat-up sheep that were hurt because their pastor wanted to operate
outside his calling.
Be careful that men don't exalt you above your character, because
it takes time to build character.
The Man Who Would Be Pastor
I pastored for 11 1/2 years, and you learn some things in that length
of time. A young man came up to me once and said, "You know, I
could pastor this church better than you're pastoring it. I'm a lot smarter
than you, and I went to such-and-such school."
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I said, "Big deal!" I wasn't angry; it was just the Holy Spirit within
me. I asked him, "How many churches have you pastored?"
"I haven't pastored any."
"Well, go out and pastor a few. When you get some experience,
maybe I'll take some of your advice. In the meantime, instruct yourself.
God set me as the pastor of this church, and I'm the one He anointed for
it."
He went off and said I didn't have any love. That's the usual excuse
Charismatics give when they're corrected!
Do not offer novices position and authority while they are still
immature. Let them prove themselves. If they believe they have
something, do them a favor and let them serve in lesser capacities first.
Stay in Your Office
Be sure you walk and remain in the office to which God has called
you. Intruding into the wrong office can kill you! Remember, in Old
Testament times when anyone who was not anointed to be High Priest
intruded into the Holy of Holies, he dropped dead.
We're under grace today, and it takes a little longer to die. I'm
convinced, however, that many pastors have heart attacks, ulcers, and
other health problems because they're doing things they were not called
and anointed to do.
I'm thinking of a man who is a strong businessman. He's really
called to the ministry of helps, but he wants to be a pastor. There are
people all over the country who are like him: They aren't called to it,
but they want to pastor.
If this businessman doesn't recognize his error, he won't live out his
full lifetime. Why? Because he's intruding into that office. He isn't
called to it; he isn't equipped for it; and he doesn't have the anointing to
serve in it.
A Danger in the Fivefold Ministry
So when you try to walk in something you're not called to, it can
cause you to die prematurely. Many people don't realize this about the
fivefold ministry.
They think, "Well, bless God, I can do anything I want to. I can
walk in any office I want to." No, you can't walk in any office you want
44

tonot unless God calls you into that office and anoints and equips you
for it.
People who try to walk in the prophet's ministry without the
anointing may pick up familiar spirits. You may know in your heart that
someday you'll operate in the office of a prophet, but you still need to
take time to develop.
"Yes, but Jesus is coming next year! What am I going to do?" Just
relax in your gift. Just relax in the Holy Spirit.
These practical things I'm sharing with you will help get you into
the spirit realm. They will enable you to walk in the anointing God has
given you.
How to Lose Your Effectiveness
There's another danger in trying to walk in an office that isn't
yours: You will lose your effectiveness for God. For example, if a
pastor tries to step out and be an apostle when he isn't called to be an
apostle, he will fail.
Be careful about this. You can have a big, growing church and all
of a sudden decide, "Well, we ought to have our own ministerial group,
and we ought to have this, and we ought to do that." (Actually,
seasoned ministers and ministries should be handling such things.)
I know of a church whose pastor said, "We're big. We're strong.
We've got a lot of money." He started doing things God never called
him to do.
Like anyone else, I have made the same mistake: I got out of my
anointing. I am not an administrator, but I tried to administrate in the
natural. I messed everything up because I got out of my anointing, so I
hired someone with the anointing to do the work of an administrator.
I don't want to put fear in you so you won't operate in the gifts of
the Spirit. I just want to teach you some things so you can tell the
difference between a familiar spirit and the Spirit of God, and between
the works of the flesh and the works of the Holy Spirit so you will flow
stronger in your God-given gift.
More practical advice that will help you get into the spirit realm is:
Don't be taken up with names or titles. Humble yourself under the
mighty hand of God, and let Him promote you.
Also, realize that you cannot build your ministry on the
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supernatural or the gifts. To survive, it must be built on the Word of
God.
If you get off into things God hasn't called you to do, you will not
only lose the effectiveness of your anointing; you will wear yourself
out, because you don't have the oil, or anointing, to do those things.
Then your spiritual bearings will burn out!
Veering Off Into Big Projects
By doing things you are not called to do, a minister can easily get
off into error. One of the best examples of this was John Alexander
Dowie.
Dowie was one of the first in his century to have a mighty healing
ministry, but then he decided to build the city of Zion, Illinois, for his
followers. (You can read his thought-provoking story in Gordon
Lindsay's biography, John Alexander Dowie, published by Christ For
the Nations.)
Ministers must check their motives before they start big projects.
They must make sure that whatever they are doing is because God told
them to do it, and it will glorify God, not man. (Then He will supply the
money for it.)
This information will keep you from making the same mistakes
other men and women have made. It will keep you on the right track.
Then you can say, "I am making a note of that. I am not going to veer
off course. I will stay true. I will stay firm. I choose to do only the
things God told me to do."
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Chapter 7
Degrees and Rankings of Anointings
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye

present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the

renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:1,2
f you want to walk in the perfect will of God for your life, the Bible
says there are two things you need to work on: (1) your body, and (2)
your mind. Both are in the way!
This means that I must first present my body as "a living sacrifice."
Because a sacrifice dies, my body must die to human desires in order to
fulfill God's desires. So, once I am dead to what I want, God can use me
as He wants.
Other characteristics of dying to self include these: Dead men do
not strike back. Dead men do not gossip.
Dead men do not gripe, "I've got to travel all over, stay in hotel
rooms, and do thus and so."
The second thing you must do to walk in the perfect will of God is
to renew that squirrelly mind of yours in the area of your calling. In
fact, you must renew it in every area of life,"...that ye may prove what is
that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:2).
I don't know about you, but my goal is to walk in the perfect will of
God for my life!
The Measure of Faith
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is
among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to
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think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every
man the measure of faith.
Romans 12:3
Everyone has the measure of faithI believe that. But I also

believe, after further study in this passage, that God is referring here to
the measure of faith for ministry.
I believe that when God equips you for the ministry, He gives you
the measure of faith necessary to believe for what you need to get your
job done.
There are different degrees and rankings of all the offices in the
fivefold ministry. Every ministry gift carries ranks within that office.
Gifts Differing
As the sixth verse says:
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to
us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion
of faith.
Romans 12:6
No matter what your ranking is, you are rewarded according to

your faithfulness in that rank.
I've heard people say, "I'm going over to Joe's church to see what
they're doing. If I do what they're doing, I'll be successful, too."
These people are missing the whole point: Get before God and find
the plan He has for you. Then God will honor what He told you to do.
That will eliminate the competition and jealousy that are rampant today
among Christians.
I visit churches, admire their beautiful buildings and millions of
dollars' worth of television equipment, and sometimes am tempted to
wonder, "Why don't I have all these things?" The reason is, I don't need
all those things for the ranking I have.
Yield to Others' Abilities
We must recognize each other's abilities, or gifts, and yield to them
when necessary.
My wife is an evangelist. I'm going to help her more in her tent
meetings, but mostly, as a prophet, I speak to the Body of Christ, not to
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the unsaved. Nancy and I flow together and help one another in
ministry. When she's in my meetings and has something from the Spirit,
I yield to her anointing.
For example, because she's an evangelist, I let her have the altar
calls. Because of her anointing in that area, she gets more people saved
than I do. I'm not a front man; I'm a "stump puller" in the Spirit.
Not long ago, I went to a very large church. For two weeks before I
got there, the pastors had taught about "the different guy who is
coming." Everyone introduced me as "a different guy." I thought,
"What's wrong with me?" Then I got offended over it! It was just my
pride, because I wanted to be known as "the dignified teacher Ed
Dufresne." (With my background, not having much of an education,
sometimes pride can step in.)
I went back to my hotel room and complained, "Lord, I don't care
for that kind of an introduction, thank You. They say I'm different. I
wonder what everyone is saying about me? I've had enough persecution
elsewhere without them saying I'm different, too!"
"I'm Different"
Then God gave me a sermon. The next day I preached it. It was
entitled, "I'm Different!" First Corinthians 12:5-7 says that there are
differences of administrations, diversities of operations, and different
manifestations.
I told those people, "I'm scriptural: I'm different!" Hallelujah, there
isn't another person like me on the face of this earth!
If I were still the old sinner Ed Dufresne, I would be engaged in fist
fights at times. Fortunately, that old Ed Dufresne is dead. I'm a new
creature in Christ. Otherwise, to tell you the truth, I'd probably be in
jail.
My Boat Can't Sink!
Human beings are very interesting. Their adulation can quickly
turn to forgetfulness. When you're popular and well-known, people can
cause you to burn out with overwork if you don't pace yourself.
You can be a famous minister, die, and within six months your
church will have another pastor. Eventually, they will forget about you.
They won't even put flowers on your grave!
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I've been in situations where I thought I was sinking. It looked like
my whole ministry was going under, and I was going to drown. Most of
your so-called friends forsake you when it looks like your ship is
sinking.
One day I said, "God, I'm sinking; I'm sinking!"
God replied, "How can you sink when you've got Jesus in your
boat?"
You must understand, God won't test you with evil, but He will
prove you to see if you have faith.
Many times my back has been against the wall. Some of my staff
left me. They said, "This boat is sinking. I'm jumping out!"
Do you know what the Lord told me about this? He said, "When
the water comes up, it's an opportunity to get rid of all the rats."
I'm Still Floating
My boat bobbed back up. I'm still floating, and I'm not planning on
sinking. I'm not going to be shipwrecked, because I'm not a "shooting
star" that appears on the scene for a brief season. I'm in this for the long
haul. When all the dust settles, I'm still going to be here! I've made my
decision: I'm still going to be around!
That's why I haven't built my ministry on the gifts of the Spirit or
the gift of the prophet. I have built it on the Word of God. I always start
with the Word, and if the Spirit wants to move, fine.
Faith for Your Task
God never gives a minister a bigger job than His gift of faith. When
God speaks to you and tells you to do something, He will give you the
measure of faith necessary to get that job done.
If He tells you to go on national television, He'll pay the bills. You
won't need gimmicks.
This comes right back to the question of motive: What is your
motive? You may do all right for a while, but if your motive isn't right,
if your heart isn't right, you'll destroy yourself.
God isn't putting up with any more gimmicks! All that Hollywood
junk is coming out of the Body of Christ. It won't work to have man
exalt you if you don't have the goods! I'd rather have God exalt me.
Then my promotion will last, because it will be built on a solid
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foundation.
Two Kinds of Faith
It's important to realize that the faith, or grace, God gives us to
accomplish our calling has nothing to do with our personal faith.
Romans 12:3 says, "Through the grace given unto me...." This means,
through the ability that God has given me, I am doing these things.
Paul was a man just like you and me, but grace was given to him to
fulfill his calling. Get into the will of God and find out what your grace
is.
If you don't know what you're called to do, simply walk in the
ability you have right now. If you're a carpenter, be a carpenter. If
you're a police officer, be a police officer.
The Importance of Obedience
The Holy Spirit has different ways of doing things, but obedience
always creates an atmosphere for the demonstration of God's power in
miracles.
We were taught in the Word of Faith Movement that we could have
whatever we said. However, we've got to understand this promise in
context. Making a faith confession is like using a pen. Speaking the
confession writes on your heart, and you believe what you're saying.
However, you can't confess something that's beyond your grace in the
ministry.
"I'm going to have a TV ministry. I'm going to have a TV ministry.
I'm going to have a TV ministry."
Yes, that's your confession, but did God call you to have a TV
ministry?
"Why, He said to go into all the world and preach the Gospel!"
That's stretching it. People use that excuse for everything. They'll
visit a church and decide they want the same kind of sophisticated
television equipment God allowed that church to have and be stewards
over. What happens is, that person is believing for the equipment out of
his own lust.
"Well, I want that. I want to get in front of everyone. I want to be a
minister. I want..." You want. No, it's what God wants.
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Spiritual Responsibility
The things I'm sharing with you in this book can save your ministry
and your life. I know what I'm talking about, because I did a lot of
stupid things as I was growing up spiritually. My heart was right, but
my thinking wasn't always right!
That's what Paul was talking about: He told us to renew our minds.
He also warned us not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought.
Just because we have more ability and grace to reach more people than
the pastor of a 250 member church doesn't mean we're greater than he
is. In fact, with our grace comes greater responsibility.
William Branham was a tremendous man of God. But he made up
his mind he was going to be a teacher, even though he was called to be
a prophet. Since he was out of his calling, he began teaching false
doctrine.
God couldn't allow that, because it would harm the whole body of
Christ, and Brother Branham was removed off the scene. The devil had
an open door to destroy him, and he did.
Brother Branham is in heaven with the Lord now, but if he hadn't
gotten out of his grace and into error, do you realize he would still be
ministering?
He could have ministered during the sixties, the seventies, the
eighties, even until the present day, and we would have learned from
that powerful gift he had of the word of knowledge and the word of
wisdom.
Ministry Ranking
You see, when high-ranking ministers fail in some way, all those
under them are automatically affected! The greater your rank within
your office, the more people you will affect.
Ministry ranking is parallel to military ranking. In other words,
Satan's ranking is parallel to God's ranking. So when God's general
knocks out Satan's general, it automatically affects the devils in lower
ranks.
God's generals deal with Satan's generals, lieutenants deal with
lieutenants, corporals with corporals, captains with captains, and so
forth.
It's good to have prophets come to your church, because of the
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spiritual equipment they've got. You need to recognize each office in
the fivefold ministry. A teacher will come to your church and deposit
certain things. So will an apostle and a prophet, according to their gifts.
In some cases, if you stand in more than one office, you can go
back and forth between the anointings. For example, I weave in and out
between the prophet's office and the teacher's office.
As you grow and mature in the things of God, usually one office
will start to be stronger than the others, and you will walk in that higher
rank. More responsibilities come with the higher rank.
The Temptation to "Perform"
If you're not careful, you can push someone to "perform," and once
they start, it will create a demand for them to continue to perform.
Unfortunately, that's what's happening with prophets today. But
ministers are not called to perform!
"Ed was with Pastor So-and-so and this and that happened. Ed was
over there and raised $100,000 in five minutes. BAM!he got it. I'll
get him over to my church to do that."
I don't want to hurt anyonebecause I believe there are true moves
of God in what is happeningbut it's wrong to advertise, "Come to our
meeting. We're going to give everyone a word." That's a bunch of
baloney. It's as the Spirit wills.
If you minister in the gifts, don't feel obligated to perform.
If the Spirit doesn't manifest, don't you try to do something in the
flesh. If you try to perform or force something to happen, you will open
yourself up to listen to a familiar spirit, because you will be off the
Word of God.
A prophet's ministry cannot be built on the supernatural; it must be
built on the Word. The prophet should operate in the spiritual gifts, but
he must build his ministry on the preaching and the teaching gift.
If you keep the flow in the spiritual gifts secondary, it will guard
you from being sucked in by familiar spirits. Ministering the Word must
be your primary objective.
How to Recognize Familiar Spirits
There can be a fine line between a familiar spirit and the Holy
Spirit.
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Familiar spirits always attract attention to a person and uplift that
person instead of Jesus.
This, then, is the test: If it brings attention to the man or the woman
who is ministering instead of causing worship of Jesus, it's the work of a
familiar spirit.
When the gifts are in operation, people may start to worship the
minister. They say, "Oh, isn't he something!" You must beware of that
kind of display, because it's another spiritual snare.
That's why I often walk out of a meeting after I'm done. That way
God gets all the praise and glory. After all, He did it; we didn't!
Other Spirits
A so-called preacher who got into error told a man, "You own a
valuable ring. You lost it, and I'll tell you where it is: It's in the lower
drawer where you keep your clothing. It's underneath, over in the
corner. You're supposed to bring that ring and give it to me for the
ministry."
This happened because a familiar spirit knew where the ring was,
and he told the preacher. The fallen preacher then took the ring, sold it,
and kept the money for himself. He said he knew the location of the
ring through God's gift. No, it was through the familiar spirit.
Realize there are other spirits out there in the spiritual realm. That's
why you must be properly equipped spiritually, and you must have
accurate spiritual discernment.
Some of you want to operate under a heavy anointing, like an
experienced prophet does, but you hardly know how to get in out of the
rain yet, to say nothing of recognizing those anointings. Don't get mad
at me; this is meant to help you.
God gave the ministering gifts for what? For the perfecting of the
saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the Body.
Therefore, all ministering gifts must recognize each other's role in the
Body and operate in unity.
For example, the prophet is to inspire the teacher. The teacher is
then to study what God says through the prophet and teach the Body in
clarity and balance what God is saying. How beautifully this unity
brings growth and maturity to God's people.
We ought to listen to what the true prophets of the land are saying.
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Chapter 8
Oiled by the Anointing
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk

worthy of the vocation [calling] wherewith ye are called.
Ephesians 4:1
ow many of you know you're called? Before I was saved, I

certainly had no idea there was a calling on my life. I knew I loved
God, however.
I used to sit in bars and get in fights with people who would say
there is no God. I'd hit them over the head with a beer bottle and say,
"Yes, there is a God!" (Like He needed me to fight for Him).
One night I was sitting on a bar stool, minding my own businessI
wasn't bothering God, and I wasn't bothering the devil; I was drunk
and a voice came to me and said, "You're going to preach. You're going
to go all over the world preaching My Gospel."
I told the bartender, "Joe, set everyone up with a beer. I'm going to
be a priest!" And they all laughed and drank my beer. I was raised as a
Catholic, so I thought I was going to be a priest.
A month later, I went to a Protestant church with a man who had
been witnessing to me. I got saved in that church in 1965, and
immediately wanted to serve the Lord.
I started in the ministry of helps, because I couldn't get up in front
of people and speak. I couldn't even give my testimony in church.
However, God knows people's hearts, and He will use anyone.
Once He used a jackass to prophesy to a disobedient prophet, and that
should keep our pride level down!
I just don't understand people like that prophetpeople who have
tasted the good things of God and say, "Well, my spouse left me, so I'm
quitting the ministry."
What does that have to do with your relationship with God? Are
55

you going to go to hell for a woman? Are you going to go to hell for a
man?
I don't understand people who complain, "I went into the ministry,
and it got kind of rough." What did you think would happen? Did you
think the devil was going to roll over, play dead, and allow you to
invade his territory? You will have some rough times in the ministry!
My First Speaking Engagement
There was that call on my life, and I couldn't get away from it. I'll
never forget the first time I had an invitation to preach. My church
invited me to speak to the youth.
I got turned on to the Word of God by Kenneth Copeland tapes
the big, five-inch reels that we had thenso I took a big tape recorder
to the youth meeting, set the machine on the pulpit, and announced,
"All right, I can't preachbut here's Ken Copeland."
Then I pushed the PLAY button, sat down, and listened while
Brother Copeland preached to the youth for a whole hour. I thought I
couldn't preach, but I knew I could believe for miracles, so I prayed for
the sick afterwards. We had all kinds of miracles and healings.
This is the way I "preached" from then on, lugging my heavy tape
recorder around and depending on Ken Copeland for the taped
messages.
God Takes My Crutch Away
Then one day God told me to leave that tape recorder home. It
scared me! "My Lord," I pleaded, "wait a minute! I'm not going to get
up in front of people and make a fool of myself! I'm not a public
speaker; never have been. I'm not going to do it!"
Once you've got a call on your life, its tug is inescapable. God has
ways of making it inescapable, too! After God dealt firmly with me, I
finally said, "Well, maybe I could get up and give a little testimony..."
Later God said to me, "I have anointed your lips; man hasn't. Open
your mouth, and I will fill it. Study to show yourself approved, and I
will fill your mouth."
I admire preachers who can get up and preach a whole sermon off
just one word they've heard. That's a gift from God. Man can't put that
in you, but God can put it in you. Glory to God, He has put it in me!
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The First Time I Preached
I'll never forget the first time I got up and really preached. I opened
my mouth, and after half an hour, I said to myself, "My Lord, I didn't
know I knew that!"
Praise God for the vocation, the calling, that's on our lives.
Let's read further in Ephesians 4:
With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing
one another in love.
Ephesians 4:2
A lot of people don't know anything about longsuffering and

forbearing (which means to put up with each other when we don't agree
with each other). I've been tested on that one!
For example, some people always want to know, "What camp are
you in? We don't know where you're at."
A Spirit of Division
I know right away that they're trying to "locate" me to see if they're
going to fellowship with me or not. But that's a spirit of division. It's not
of God, and I don't want anything to do with it.
I don't go around worrying, "I wonder what So-and-so thinks about
that?" The important thing is: What does God say about it? We're afraid
of man when we ought to be more afraid of God and what He says in
His Word.
However, I attempt to reply to those questions with longsuffering,
forbearance, and love. I say, "Well, brother, right now I'm not in any
camp. I'm just following God's Spirit, and I'm watching the Head of the
Church, who is Jesus."
You may be doctrinally correct in some areas, but your attitude can
stink, you can be out of love, and your church can be dead. There are a
lot of folks down in the graveyard who are real dignified, too.
Beware of Wet Blankets
When you've got God in you and all over you, something's bound
to happen!
When I first got saved, I attended a Full Gospel church, but after I
got turned on to the Word of God, they yelled, "Wild fire, wild fire,
57

wild fire!"
They tried to put my fire out. Their "wet blankets" were soaked
with unbelieving water. They tried to throw this unbelief water on me to
extinguish my faith fire.
They told me, "Now, you just be sweet, Ed. You used to be a sweet
usher, but now you're wild! You're praying for people, and tumors are
disappearing and a youngster's hips were put back in place."
Prosperity and Dignity
They got all upsetand this was supposed to be a Full Gospel
church. What happened to that church is happening today in thousands
of churches. They get prosperous, move to the "right" side of the tracks,
and get dignified.
"Now we're respected," they say, and they grab their wet blankets
anytime there's a little fire. I'd rather put up with a little wildfire than
have no fire at all!
With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing
one another in love;
Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one
hope of your calling;
One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and
in you all.
But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure
of the gift of Christ.
Ephesians 4:2-7
This last statement is where a lot of people miss it. They fail to find
out what the grace, or calling, on their life is and what they are
supposed to do with that calling. If they don't do what God has called
them to do, they could face many problems.
Burning the Bearings Out
Ministers can lose their effectiveness in what God called them to
do when they get involved in other things. People pull them into other
things, and before they know it, they're not as effective in ministry as
58

they once were.
You can become involved in good things that will rob you of your
anointing and even lead to your premature death, as we saw in a
previous chapter.
Ministers plunge into all kinds of activities, but they're not always
successful, no matter how hard they try. This prompted me to ask God
about it.
He said, "They're doing things that I didn't give them the oil to do,
so their bearings burn out."
When you see a successful church, you must not get jealous and
decide, "Well, I think I'll start a church here, too." You can't simply
copy that successful pastor. You need an anointing to start a church.
God gave that successful pastor the oil to do it, but it doesn't mean
He'll give you the oil to start a church in the same town. It may not be
His will for you.
You must be led by the Holy Spirit for God to use you in your
grace. Then He will give you the oil you need for your job.
God Rewards Faithfulness
God gives different abilities and equipment to get different jobs
done. He will reward you according to the grace He gave you. For
example, He would be unfair if He judged pastors simply by numbers.
A man with a small church on the outskirts of a city may have
pastored there all his life, but if he was faithful to that small flock and to
the will of God, he is deemed faithful in the eyes of God, and he will
get the same reward as the equally faithful pastor of a large flock.
Pinch yourself and say, "I'm just flesh." Unless you've got the oil
and the anointingunless God gives you the abilityyou aren't going
to make it in the ministry.
"Charisma" alone isn't going to do it! To be successful, your
ministry must be oiled by the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
God's Gifts to Men
Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led
captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first
59

into the lower parts of the earth?
He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all
heavens, that he might fill all things.)
Ephesians 4:8-10
Jesus ascended into heaven "and gave gifts unto men." What were
some of those gifts? We referred to them previously in Chapter 1. Let's
look at the next verse: "And he gave some, apostles; and some,
prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers"
(Ephesians 4:11).
First Corinthians 12:18 says that God "set" certain gifts in the
Church: "But now hath God set the members every one of them in the
body, as it hath pleased him."
It's very important when God "sets," or establishes, a work. Are
you familiar with the properties of concrete? You can move it or do
anything you want with it as long as it's wet. But once it sets up, you
can't move it.
When God sets you in the church, your calling is firm.
60

Anointing and Mantles by Ed Dufresne

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Anointing and Mantles by Ed Dufresne

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Anointings and Mantles

Anointings and Mantles

Anointings and Mantles

2 Anointings Within and Upon

3 Coming Through the Cross

4 The Best Investment I Ever Made

5 The Importance of the Anointing

6 The Anointing and the New Revival

7 Degrees and Rankings of Anointings

8 Oiled by the Anointing

Concerning Spiritual Gifts

aul writes in First Corinthians 12:1, "Now concerning spiritual

Later in this chapter, Paul adds that he does not want us to be

Anointings and Mantles

Concerning Spiritual Gifts

Anointings and Mantles

Anointings Within and Upon

Anointings and Mantles

Anointings Within and Upon

Anointings and Mantles

Coming Through the Cross

hen many people teach on the prophet's ministry, they focus on

Anointings and Mantles

In other words, her medical insurance ran out! Sometimes this

Coming Through the Cross

Someone made a demand on Jesus. Someone pulled on His

Anointings and Mantles

Coming Through the Cross

Anointings and Mantles

Coming Through the Cross

Anointings and Mantles

Coming Through the Cross

The Best Investment I Ever Made

Anointings and Mantles

The Best Investment I Ever Made

Anointings and Mantles

The Best Investment I Ever Made

Anointings and Mantles

The Best Investment I Ever Made

Anointings and Mantles

The Importance of the Anointing

n the past, when people sent me a prayer cloth or a handkerchief, I

Anointings and Mantles

The Importance of the Anointing

Anointings and Mantles

The Importance of the Anointing

Anointings and Mantles

The Anointing and the New Revival

Anointings and Mantles

The Anointing and the New Revival

"Novice" means a baby Christian or a young believer. Some

Anointings and Mantles

The Anointing and the New Revival

Anointings and Mantles

The Anointing and the New Revival

Anointings and Mantles

Degrees and Rankings of Anointings

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the

Anointings and Mantles

Everyone has the measure of faithI believe that. But I also

No matter what your ranking is, you are rewarded according to

Degrees and Rankings of Anointings

Anointings and Mantles